Rastogi, an architect, was the vice-president of the Udham Singh Nagar district unit of the BJP in the hill state. He left his office on the Rudrapur highway for Panchpeda on Friday but did not return.

Anxious family members called him on his cellphone, but did not get a response. They registered a complaint with the police. On Saturday morning, residents of Mandanpur village spotted his body in the car and informed the police.

Ramswarup Singh, superintendent of police (rural), Bareilly, said the killers had tied Rastogi’s hands and dumped the body in the car. The body was sent for post-mortem.

Singh said investigations were on with the assistance of the Uttarakhand police. “We hope to nab the killers soon.”